


Your Soul, My Beats

by MistressPikachu (FinalVolition)



Category: Shingeki no Kyojin | Attack on Titan
Genre: Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Child Abuse, Child Neglect, F/M, Piano, Titled as ‘Crescendo’ on deviantart
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-09-05
Updated: 2018-09-05
Packaged: 2019-07-07 08:57:32
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,758
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15905052
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/FinalVolition/pseuds/MistressPikachu
Summary: Your only goal is always to play perfectly and please your parents. When you meet Levi, you start to get other ideas.





	Your Soul, My Beats

**Author's Note:**

> ‘Crescendo’ Imported from my deviantart account VariaFran. I’ll be fixing the grammar and word mistakes, but otherwise unchanged.

“Keep your hands up, [Name].”

The ruler smacked down painfully on your bare knuckles. The red skin darkened as your fingers throbbed with a familiar searing pain. You picked up your wrist, blinking back the tears that formed in your eyes, and your fingers ran smoothly once more over the black and white keys as you restarted the piece.

As the song came to a close, you pushed away from the piano and gently began to rub your sore fingers. “Mom, can I stop now? We've been practicing for five hours,” you pleaded.

“Not until you can play without any mistakes. You're still missing the c-minor.”

You nodded, too nervous to argue back with her. Ignoring the cramps in your hands, you began the entire set over and didn't get to sleep for another three hours, late into the evening.

—

You chewed your bottom lip nervously, and the pounding in your chest increased as you bashfully walked onto the stage, the heels of your shoes clicking loudly in the silent auditorium. You bowed towards the audience and gave a curt nod to the judges. “M-My name is [Last Name], [First], and I'll be playing Beethoven's Appassionata in F minor.”

You cast a quick look towards your parents. The proud look on your dad's face and the stern one of your mother's were enough to make you swallow your nervousness into a tight, uncomfortable pit in your stomach to be forgotten. You sat down on the bar in front of the piano and slowly brushed your fingers against the familiar keys. The song just seemed to go straight from your brain to your fingers once you began to play.

“She's really good,” one of the judges whispered, and you smiled a little more, gaining some confidence.

This is what all those long hours of training had been leading to. This competition, this moment.

The sounds of applause flooded your ears as you slowly raised yourself from your seat. Once again, you turned towards the crowd and took a bow. You didn't bother to take a look at your parents, but you somehow knew they were satisfied with your performance. You retreated behind the curtains with the other female contestants, as a boy came from the opposite way that you exited.

The boy was fairly short with raven black hair. He held an uninterested gaze and an even more disinterested expression. The lack of concern was only exemplified by the little respect he had for the judges, not even bother to bow or even acknowledge them. 

“My name is Ackerman, Levi. I will be playing Liszt Liebestraume.”

Those gray eyes briefly made contact with your [e/c] ones; and in that moment, you felt your heart stop. The boy was gorgeous, but before you could even save that look into your memory, it was blocked by dark bangs.

Just as handsome as he was, his music was even more. It was the best rendition of Liebestraume you heard in your life, second only to the original. The boy held his eyes down in concentration, and gently tapped off the pauses with his foot. This Levi was truly a genius, and you listened, mesmerized.

“He is also your competition,” you remembered suddenly. You couldn't think this well of him. You would have to be even better than him if you hoped to win the competition.

\---

“Was there never a break from classical music? Gershwin is a great composer and all, but it all gets tiring after awhile. Could we not listen to Gym Class Heroes or Maroon 5 for once in awhile,” you thought to yourself, but refused to voice your opinions out loud.

You caught your mother's stern gaze from the rear view mirror. Her hand shot up and readjusted the mirror to get a better look at your slightly disappointed face. “[Name], aren't you happy to get a call back?”

“Yeah...” you answered from instinct alone.

“So, what do you think of that Levi fellow? He's a pretty rude one,” your mother asked and crossed her arms over her chest. You could sense she was thinking of something rotten by the way her face twisted with distaste.

“That doesn't dismiss talent,” your father added, “I heard of him before, a prodigy from Bavaria. I've seen him a few times on T.V. but I'm sure [Name] can beat him if she continues her routine.”

“Yes. Another seven hours of practicing, lovely,” you thought, but kept a soft smile on your face, if only to reassure your parents of your false happiness.

\---

The next competition wasn't until two weeks later. The other twenty callbacks filed in back stage before the show, along with Levi. There was a short intermission still remaining before the show, and you were drowning down a bottle of water in attempts to overcome your stage fright somewhat. You practiced a million times over the past few days, and you knew the piece by heart. You wouldn't mess up.

As you sat down your water, you noticed a familiar pair of stormy colored eyes on you. They were smoldering almost. You cleared your throat and quickly averted your gaze.

“He's just trying to intimidate you, [Name],” you tried to tell yourself. It was obvious that the both of you were two of the better players amongst the group.

But, you still felt those eyes on you. You almost dared yourself to look back at him and demand to know why he was giving you the intimidation treatment, but there was a call through the curtains. You couldn't be more relieved when you lined up, escaping from those eyes.

\---

Five more people had gotten cut last time, and five more would be this round. The entire time you were waiting for your turn, you would rub your sore fingers. Your mother had decided to train you on harder pieces, ones you had trouble grasping due to the constantly changing paces and pitches of the song. It was like a roller coaster for your eyes when you tried to read the sheet music.

Not only that, but you were getting that strange chill from behind you.

There was only one person, besides your mother and her ruler of evil, that was able to spark this tense reaction from you. Levi was once again staring at you, and it was making you more irritated than before.

You walked out on the stage in the same fashion as before and gave a bow followed by a nod before stating your name and the piece you were going to perform. You could feel your hands cramping up once more and the memory of painful swats on your bare skin was enough to make you sweat in anxiety. The stinging in your fingers made it difficult to switch over when you needed to press F or G. That's when an out of place note broke through the smooth melody of the song.

Time seemed to stop.

You caught your mother's disapproving gaze, her hands balled into a tight fist, crushing the innocent pamphlet between her fingers and palm, and your father merely frowned. You swallowed hard and continued to play, watching nervously as the judges scribbled something down quickly.

After your piece finished, you exited the stage with nothing but sheer terror etched on your face. Your mother would kill you, and your father wouldn't talk to you once this was over. The ruler had been bad enough, but this was just entirely awful.

Levi played perfectly.

\---

“Why is he still staring,” you thought bitterly.

You were probably going to be kicked out of the competition now. The slightest mistake during a play could mean the end for anyone, no matter how talented they were, yet he still felt the need to stare. You caught his look for the first time. You were already dead after today, might as well.

The boy took a few steps towards you, and you were sure he was going to stop, but instead he continued until you were face to face with him. “Your name is [Name], right?” he asked, as if he hadn't just heard you say that to the judges.

You gave him a slight nod. “Levi, right? From Bavaria?”

“You heard about me,” he questioned.

“My dad... watches your plays sometimes,” you explained awkwardly, trying to find a way to voice your concerns without sounding too bitter. His eyes dropped down to your sides, and you softly bit your bottom lip. “Uh, what is it?"

“Can I see your hands?” he asked hesitantly. Though the question was random, you cautiously decided to place your hand into his. Levi turned your hand over, gently running his thumb over your knuckles. Your fingers twitched at his touch, and you hissed. “Just as I thought, they're swollen.”

“I-I was just practicing a lot, and I don't hold my wrists correctly...” you explained, deciding to give him a half lie.

“Don't be so difficult on yourself. You might want to lay off on playing for a little while,” Levi suggested and continued to gently massage your sore knuckles.

“Ah,” you blushed and quickly placed your arms at your sides. “Y-Yeah, I'll take your advice to heart.”

“Contestants to the stage.”

\---

Luck was on your side that night. There was an absence within the contest and you barely slid by as the tenth callback, but that didn't save you from your mother's constant badgering.

Not only did she think you needed more practice time, which meant you could no longer spend time with your friends, she signed you up for piano classes with a local teacher when she had to work on the weekends.

It was just to your surprise to discover that the other student in the class with you at the moment was none other than Levi himself. The same boy who would stare at you during competitions and awkwardly played with your fingers.

He sounded even more amazing up close than he did when you watched behind the curtains of the stage. You were keeping up with the lessons in your own right, but just the dark and mysterious aura he produced was intoxicating. You flushed at the thought of those same soft fingers having touched yours just weeks ago.

"Very good, Levi, as expected from my student. Continue on to the next set," your tutor ordered before walking in front of your keyboard. ”[Name], would you play that piece as well?"

"Yes, ma'am," you answered and started off the song slowly. It was your first time playing this song, and it was slightly unnerving. You slowed down and tried to play the melody as Levi did. When he played, it was smooth and captivating while you were having difficulty, more so than usual with him in attendance. As you tried to adjust to the increased pace of the song, you slipped and clicked the wrong key.

You immediately tensed and stopped in your tracks. Fear tingled down your spine, and your fingers stung from the constant abuse they would receive when you messed up. You flinched as the teacher raised her hand, and you prepared for a sharp smack to come down, but instead she pointed out to the note that you missed on the sheet music.

You saw Levi looking at you with widened eyes.

\---

It was long before the next competition where five more were cut.

The contestants had slowly began to dwindle down until that only you and Levi remained in the competition as the finalists. A few days before the final competition, the teacher stepped out of the room to print new sheet music since the ones she had were damaged by previous students.

Levi tilted his head back and forth, cracking out any tension while you kicked your feet under the piano.

The both of you had became more acquainted these last few weeks. Between competitions and classes, he was the only person that you actually got to see outside of school, and you quickly turned to him to retain any form of social life. Any thoughts on him being your rival was long lost through idle conversation. Although, he preferred to listen rather than talk.

You didn't mind.

"[Name], do you like piano?" he asked you out of the blue.

You looked up from your sheet music, cocking your eyebrow at him curiously. "Where did that come from?" you asked confused, "Are you sick perhaps?"

Levi shook his head. “Before a competition you're always so tense. I can tell that it isn't from excitement or happiness. The only time you seem relieve is when it's all over; and even when you play perfectly, you don’t smile."

You sighed, closing your eyes shut to drum up the strength to remember a time when you did like playing. “I like piano music. I used to watch this anime and the beginning song was this really fast paced piano instrumental. I fell in love with piano music then, but my mother took over it when she realized I was good at it, like she always does with something I like...”

"My mother used a switch when I was younger. The welts didn't heal completely for a few weeks at a time."

You frowned, watching as he looked at the permanently dark skin around his fingers. “You don't like playing piano, do you, Levi?”

He looked at you, unblinkingly, face deadpanned. “What makes you say that? I like it very much.”

“It's just that... you don't seem the type to be into all this performance and competition type things. You seem too laid back for this sort of thing.”

"Maybe,” he replied, “I'd rather just play on my own schedule instead of on beck and call. I have to learn new songs almost every week, and my family is always traveling. If I could play what I wanted, on my own time, I could actually enjoy it again."

"As silly as it sounds, I never realized you had to practice. I always thought you were some type of genius before this class," you laughed weakly.

Levi clicked his tongue, looking back upstairs to where the teacher fled. You sighed and wondered how long did it take to find one blasted piece of sheet music. She was probably texting her boyfriend. Levi leaned back in his chair, gazing at you. “Was the song called... my soul, your beats? The one from your show.”

"How does that one go?" you asked, unable to recall the beginning melody. Levi clicked his tongue and got up. You felt his arms enclosed around your shoulders as he lightly pressed his weight against your back. You blushed when the strong scent of his cologne came rushing over you.

"This one," he murmured, his soft hairs tickling your neck as he slowly began to play the song.

As the melody began to increase dramatically, you hummed out, “Yeah, that was it.” You smiled from the nostalgic music along with the mix of new emotions that you heart seemed to direct towards the older boy, especially as a short laugh met your ears, and he stopped.

"It's been a long time since I enjoyed playing," Levi whispered absentmindedly; but before you could stammer out a response, you heard a ring at the door followed by the sound of your teacher rushing down stairs to answer it.

Much to your dismay, your mother was the one at the door. “[Name], we're going. We have to pick out your dress," your mother beckoned you over, not without throwing a nasty look to Levi first. The boy clicked his tongue in annoyance and lifted from you, sharing the same irritated look as her.

“Bye," you whispered and quickly gathered your things.

\---

The final day had finally come.

After a rigorous training schedule, your mother decided the only way to one up the competition was to play a particularly difficult piece. You didn't have much experience with Balakierve, but you were determined to do this and get it over with. If you did well, maybe, you could talk to your mother about giving up piano playing.

“I'll be playing An Oriental Fantasy by Balakierve,” you nervously stated and sat down in front of the piano.

You hesitated, receiving the normal surmise look from your parents, then you went searching for those calming grey eyes you came to love. Levi was watching you from behind the curtain, giving you a reassuring nod; his lips mouthed 'you can do it'.

You gulped before taking a deep breath and letting your fingers fall upon the keys. The first lines went well, and all the faces around you seemed happy; but as you came into the more complicated bits, you were completely lost.

You needed way longer than a month of practice in order to learn this piece. You had no idea what your mother was thinking! There were people who took years to master this song, and it was quickly becoming a jumbled mess in your mind. The notes all mixed together and the growing anxiety rising to your throat from the pit in your stomach was stifling.

You didn't miss one note. No, it was much worse. Your fingers seemed to have a mind of their own and clicked any key they came across, forming a weird piece of awkward notes and mixed melodies. You panicked and desperately tried to find your place on the sheet music, but everything you read seemed to be the same. You couldn't even began to recall how to read sheet music!

Instead of picking up were you left off, you ran off stage and didn't bother to look back at Levi as you pushed past him and ran down the back stairs and out of the auditorium.

\---

Levi walked onto the stage, addressing the crowd. The piece he would be playing was the same piece that you had failed to complete. The two of you seemed to have the same idea on what to play in order to win. It was regarded as one of the most difficult pieces in history; and if your failure wasn't enough to express that, Levi didn't know what was.

He started off just as you did, without missing a beat. The difference was that he had long ago had practice with this song and could easily continue onto the next line of sheet music without any interruptions. The song was well, and Levi's grey eyes flicked up from the sheet music and out to the crowd, searching for you.

You were nowhere to be found.

It wasn't until halfway through the song did he catch the back doors of the seating area opened silently. Your mother was tugging you violently by your hand followed by your dad. You made a pained look and tried to snatch your arm out of her grasp as tears ran down your cheeks. He didn't know exactly what your mother roughly whispered to you, but whatever it was couldn't be good judging by the harsh look on her face.

Levi cursed under his breath and hit a hard note. He stopped immediately, just as you had. Managing to keep his composure, he quickly found his pace again. The crowd kept silent as he attempted to pick up his flow once again, yet as your reddened [e/c] irises found his again, he stopped.

The pause was long, overly extended even, and you knew that it wasn’t supposed to be there. You watched him curiously and cocked your head since you were just as lost as the rest of the crowd. Then, he began to play once more. The song was slower, much noticeably slower. When those first three set of notes repeated, you knew exactly the song he was playing.

You could practically hear the singer herself when he reached the slower verse, and you began to wipe your tears away. _'Before I knew it, I took off running pulled along by your hand. Yesterday so distant and tomorrow so close. Naturally, it made my heart leap,'_ you hummed in your head. _'I felt like I heard it, because I felt like I sensed it. Just now, in my heart that has begun to tremble.'_

There were whispers in the crowd at why the sudden change of song, but Levi didn't seem to care. You silently thanked him for that.

\---

The two of you met once again on stage as they announced the winner. To no one's surprise but your own, it was you who had won the competition. Although you abandoned the stage, you stuck to the correct music.

"Why did you do that? You could've won," you whispered to him as you were handed your trophy.

Levi clicked his tongue. "I'm retiring. I'm getting too old for this," he answered dryly.

"You're only seventeen, Levi," you reminded him sullenly. At least with this trophy, maybe your parents wouldn't be too angry at you. You still won the competition, unconventionally, but a win is a win. "That's a silly reason to suddenly change songs during a play. What's really going through your head?"

"I didn't want you to lose three more years like I did," Levi whispered, as he was handed a much smaller and silver trophy.

You frowned for the boy and slowly stroked the cool gold of your trophy. You were making Levi suffer. It wasn't right when he had practiced so hard. You made a mistake, and he deserved to win rather than just give up for you.

"My parents are going to disown me..." you whispered to him.

"That would be an improvement on your life," Levi said, and you smiled at that comment.

As the announcer placed the microphone to your mouth, you looked out at the somewhat satisfied look of your mother and the proundly clasped hands of your dad. You looked down at you sash and back at the weak expression on Levi's face.

With a deep breath, you announced, "I'm dropping out of the competition."

There was a shock gasp from the crowd, obviously from you-know-who. "I'm also never touching another piano as long as I live at least not on my terms," you said and slung your sash on the ground before kicking off your heels and jumping down from the stage.

Levi simply blinked at your form, which quickly retreated towards the parking lot. He turned towards the announcer. "I quit," he scoffed and followed you in the same fashion, loosening his tie on the way down the aisle.


End file.
